Muslim Americans: Setting the record straight

Muslim Americans: Setting the record straight

AROUND 150 American citizens and residents have travelled, or attempted to travel, to Syria to fight for the Islamic State (IS). Three more men, residents of Brooklyn, recently joined this list of aspiring (though thwarted) jihadists. The number is quite small—in Europe, by contrast, more than 3,000 people are believed to have joined the ranks of IS fighters—but the allure of jihad among Westerners remains alarming nonetheless. The terrorist organisation uses social media to create what James Comey, director of the FBI, calls a “siren song” for troubled souls. The IS sales pitch, he says, goes like this: “Come to the caliphate, you will live a life of glory, these are the apocalyptic end times, you will find a life of meaning here fighting for our so-called caliphate, and if you can’t come, kill somebody where you are.”

How does one counter such recruitment efforts? At a summit on violent extremism, President Barack Obama called on Muslim Americans, and moderate Muslims everywhere, to contradict the Islamic State’s extremist messages. Muslim communities, he argued, “have a responsibility to push back, not just on twisted interpretations of Islam, but also on the lie that we are somehow engaged in a clash of civilisations.”